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10 Polish start-ups that made it on Kickstarter

The recent success of RoboCORE is just one of many examples of Polish start-ups that successfully crowdfunded their ideas on Kickstarter. Their presence on this popular platform is not only a sign of the progress Polish start-ups do in general, but also their ambition to tackle global markets. Meet some of the biggest Polish Kickstarter success stories

Only one or two years ago each success of a Polish start-up on Kickstarter was met with quite an applause. Nowadays the actual reason to be happy is that Polish successes on Kickstarter are no longer breaking news. There are just enough of them to deliver a selection of the biggest and most remarkable projects only.

While each of these successes is great for the Polish start-up ecosystem, as opting for Kickstarter – the biggest crowdfunding platform in the world – instead of Polish crowdfunding platforms shows global ambitions of its members, this is not why start-ups themselves choose to do that. Marek Cieśla, Polish entrepreneur that helped crowdfund a handful of the projects listed below (Sherlybox, Woolet, RoboCORE), explains:

“There are many reasons why Polish start-ups choose Kickstarter above the traditional VC and EU funds path. One is fame. Kickstarter helps strengthen brand recognition as well as boost post-Kickstarter sales. Another is a pure validation of the project, product and idea. Last but not least – it increases a chance to get new contracts signed with distributors as well as brings new business opportunities.”

So here we go – the biggest Kickstarter projects from Poland

1. NeuroOn (2014) – $438574

The world's first sleep mask, which allows you to modify your sleeping patterns, is by far the highest crowdfunded Polish project on Kickstarter. NeuroOn by Intelclinic is a brainwave monitoring device you can use to switch from monophasic to polyphasic sleep. What does it mean in practice? Long story short – NeuroOn's grand promise is to reduce the time you dedicate to sleeping to 2-6 hours. The mask breaks up the sleep time into short 'power' naps that will keep you as refreshed and energetic as a whole night's worth of sleep.

Woolet – the smart wallet that goes back at you when you walk away from it – stormed through its funding goal with no effort. Lots of people bought the idea of a smart wallet that contains a beacon that connects it to your smartphone. Thanks to the beacon, your smart Woolet and smartphone keep track of the distance between each other and let you know when it's too big. Aside of that, it's a beauty made from leather of the finest quality. You can pre-order at woolet.co.

3. Superhot (2014) – $250798

The fact that Superhot is the highest crowdfunded Polish video game* pales in comparison to its another accomplishment – it's the first shooter in which time moves only when your character moves. This particular mechanism makes Superhot's gameplay one of a kind. So much that the only way to really 'get it' is to watch the preview below. And, of course, get the pre-order.

A short teaser of the Superhot shooter presented during the E3 gane fairs. Preview present the main motive of the game - the time freeze when you don't move your character with bullets literally handing in the air.

Let's continue the record parade. Swimmo is the most popular Polish smartwatch on Kickstarter. It actually sounds quite boring – that is until you learn that Swimmo has a very specific goal in mind – to become the perfect swimmer assistant. Swimmo is a smartwach that is completely water proof and has plenty of features for you to increase the effectiveness of your workout at the swimming pool. It tracks your distance and heart rate, works with popular fitness apps and can be controlled with two simple gestures – no buttons.

5. Zortrax (2013) – $179471

Zortrax was one of the first Polish Kickstarter successes – and one of the first signs of what was to come from Poland in the world of 3D printing. Zortrax M200, the crowdfunded machine, provides great value for money. And it's a 3D printer that works out of the box – no long and complicated setup required. Back in January 2014 Dell liked their product so much that it ordered a whopping five thousand units for its rapid prototyping needs. Learn what Zortrax is up to now from their blog.

6. Sherlybox (2014) – $154106

How many times have you heard about public cloud? Probably at least once too many. And you know a good deal about its convenience, the ability to share easily and collaborate or security. But Sherlybox is a device that offers you a private cloud. In Sherlybox you can store all of your sensitive data privately and share them with whoever you see fit. You can also collaborate with others as changes to folders will be synced much like in a public cloud. Sherlybox also provides secure and extremely fast data transfer.

7. Galaxy of Trian (2014) – $130395

Kickstarter is a treasure trove for board game* lovers. And Poles love making and playing them as well. Galaxy of Trian is a space-themed board game, in which you take command of alien factions. The gameplay is fast-paced allowing for each game to be completed in under one hour. Want to know more? Watch the review below:

An extended review of the successful Polish board game Galaxy of Trian. The reviewer goes over the rules and the visual aspect of the game, moves the pieces and explains how to succeed at playing it.

The consumer world is still waiting for the arrival of the consumer version of the acclaimed Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. But you can already purchase Cmoar, a VR headset made in Poland. Cmoar is based on a different concept – this affordable ($99) device utilizes your smartphone as the core of its system, which makes it cheaper, and is also more universal. Not only can you use it to achieve the effect of virtual/augmented reality, but also to stream 2D and 3D movies in high quality. Which approach to virtual reality is going to prevail? We'll see soon enough.

9. RoboCORE by Husarion (2015) – $58079

How you ever dreamed about having a robot? There is no need to dream about it anymore – for just about $140 you can have RoboCORE – the heart of a robot. With this and some fairly basic programming you can create a robot capable of making all sorts of things such a telepresencerobot (one that lets you 'see' through its eyes, that is a tablet attached to the model) or one that performs a certain action (e.g. moves to a chosen location) when a specified condition is met.(e.g. lights turned off).. Still confused? Watch RoboCore's promo video:

Promotional video for the RoboCORE product. RoboCORE is dressed like doctor to show that RoboCORE is a lot like the heart of a robot. With RoboCORE you can easily program and create simple robots such as telepresence robots or remotelely controlled robots.

10. AirEnergy 3D (2014) – $24108

Introduced by a Polish 3D printer manufacturer Omni3D, AirEnergy 3D is the first mobile green energy generator. It takes a shape of a fairly large energy turbine, fully 3D printed and foldable. AirEnergy 3D can generate up to 300W of electrical energy. In order to use it, you may plug an electrical device directly to your AE3D, transfer to your house electrical system or store in a battery. AirEnergy 3D works both at your home and on the go as you can easily put into your backpack.

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